The group’s official site says that its purpose is "to teach Soul Transcendence, which is becoming aware of yourself as a Soul and as one with God, not as a theory but as a living reality. MSIA offers an approach to living that focuses on how to incorporate spirituality into your everyday life."

In October of 1994, a New York Times article reported that "As for whether MSIA is merely a benign, flaky New Age California ’religious belief’ or a dangerous cult, the Cult Awareness Network lists MSIA in its most negative category, ’destructive.’ Asked by Ted Koppel last week if John-Roger’s organization qualified as a cult, ’Nightline’s’ own expert, Steven Hassan, said ’it does,’ adding that its ’authoritarian regime’ and ’mind-control techniques’ offered ’a direct parallel’ to the Swiss cult that was the chilling subject of that night’s program." In addition, critics have claimed that MSIA’s teachings have been borrowed from Eckankar and Radha Soami Satsang Beas.